The rivalry between the Toyota Avanza and the Suzuki Ertiga has been expanded to the UAE as both the MPVs, which are popular in Indonesia, have been launched in the Middle Eastern federation in quick succession. The Ertiga is sold by Suzuki's official UAE distributor Al Rostamani.
The India-made Suzuki Ertiga for the UAE market is powered by the 1.4-litre K-Series petrol engine that is capable of 94 PS and 130 Nm of torque. Like the Avanza, the Ertiga also is equipped with a 4-speed automatic transmission.
Available in GL and GLX version, the 7-seat compact MPV comes with standard features such as dual airbags, ABS, EBD, dual blower AC, powered mirrors with integrated turn indicators, remote central locking and an audio system with steering mounted controls. The top end GLX trim adds alloy wheels and fog lamps.
The MPV segment in UAE is growing at an impressive rate. According to Al-Futtaim Motors, the official distributor of Toyota vehicles in UAE, the region's MPV market grew by 28% last year. The newly launched compact MPVs are looking to take advantage of the MPV boom at the lower end of the market. Both the cars will be fighting it out with each other since there are no other vehicles from recognized brands on this side of the market.
Suzuki hasn't announced the UAE-spec Ertiga's origin, but Maruti being the sole manufacturer of the compact MPV (Suzuki Indonesia assembles Ertiga out of CKD kits from Maruti), means it is shipped from India.
The Suzuki Ertiga starts at AED 49,900 (around INR 8.10 lakhs) compared to the Toyota Avanza which retails at AED 54,900 (around INR 8.92 lakhs).
